PGA recap: Day 4 at Valhalla

A look at the final round of the PGA Championship:

August 10, 2014 — 11:54pm

Feed LoaderLEFTY JOINS IN Phil Mickelson tends to cause a stir in golf tournaments whether he contends or not, but the attention was well deserved Sunday, when he shot a 66 and finished tied for second. He nearly caused a playoff, barely missing with a chip on No. 18. “It was a fun day for me to get in the mix,” he said.

Ernie Els: He posted five birdies on the front side and was just two shots off the lead, giving him a shot at the third leg of a career Grand Slam. He didn’t slow down much, but he never quite caught up, finishing with a 65 and a tie for seventh.

Toss that card

Bernd Wiesberger: An Austrian who is a member of the European Tour but who had never contended in a major championship, was a big surprise after three rounds in the 60s, including a 65 on Saturday. He played a birdie-free round Sunday, with three bogeys for a 74 and a tie for 15th place.

On the course with …

Rickie Fowler: He was a contender at every major championship this year, runner-up at both the U.S. Open and the British Open, and tied for fifth at the Masters. For the first time, he grabbed the outright lead on Sunday. It happened when Fowler chipped in from 20 feet for a birdie at the fifth hole, pushing his score to 13 under and breaking a five-way tie for the lead. It was his third birdie in a row, and he finished with a 68 and a tie for third. That made him the first player in history to finish in the top five at all four majors without winning.

PGA moment

Scenes from the 1-hour, 51-minute rain delay: ducks wallowing in an impromptu creek running down the middle of a fairway; Sergio Garcia rolling up his pants and fleeing to the cover of the clubhouse, splashing along the way; Fowler having some fun with Billy Horschel, who was walking around barefoot, having removed his soaked socks and shoes.

Chip shots

• Kenny Perry, winner of the Champions Tour’s 3M Championship in Blaine, celebrated his 54th birthday Sunday with a 3-under 68 and a tie for 27th place.

• PGA of America President Ted Bishop botched the handoff of the Wanamaker Trophy, but McIlroy caught the top before it hit the ground.

Quote of the day

“Nobody wants to be here Monday — nobody.”

— Colin Montgomerie, when it was feared the rain delay would push the end of the tournament to Monday. He added that the PGA of America should have used a two-tee start Sunday, as was done at the British Open in the third round for the first time in its 154-year history.

Tweet of the day

“With his broad shoulders and much-longer-than-anyone drives, Rory is more like Tiger than some would want to admit.”

— Bill Plaschke (@BillPlaschke) of the L.A. Times

Key hole

472-yard par-4 No. 17: A four-man battle led to this hole, where Rory McIlroy made a birdie by stopping a 9-iron shot from a bunker 10 feet from the hole. Only eight other birdies were made on that hole Sunday, but there were 21 bogeys and a double bogey. The average score was 4.19.